Ramasamy said he agreed with the view that the UEC should undergo some modifications to pave the way for its recognition for entry to public universities.

This would include mandating a pass or credit in Bahasa Melayu or another subject taught in the national language, he added.

The former DAP leader expressed confidence that the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia, also known as Dong Zong, would not oppose this if it meant federal recognition of the UEC.

“I think both Dong Zong and the government should think out of the box to resolve the problem once and for all, rather than allow the matter to be politicised or ethnicised,” he said in a statement.

He said that aside from the medium of instruction, the UEC was not very different from the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia or A-Level, the latter of which is taught in English.

“There are those who think that given the probability of China overtaking the US in the near future, there will be a future for learning the Mandarin language. Thus, if the UEC is examined from a broad perspective, there is nothing wrong in recognising the qualification,” he said.

The UEC was created by Dong Zong to provide a unified examination after these schools opted out of the national curriculum in 1961 to maintain Chinese-medium instruction.

It is not recognised for direct entry to public universities. However, it is accepted in Sabah and Sarawak for entrance to state-run universities.

The issue was revived last week when DAP deputy chairman Nga Kor Ming said party leaders would meet the prime minister to discuss recognition of the examination.

This drew criticism from Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh, who said there was no need to consider a certificate that was not in line with the national education policy.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said that he has no issue with proposals to uplift other languages, as long as their advocates remember that the mastery of Bahasa Melayu comes first.

Dong Zong meanwhile said it had always respected Bahasa Melayu as the official language of the country and supported government policies to strengthen multilingual proficiency.

It also pointed out that Bahasa Melayu is a compulsory subject in the UEC curriculum and that the pass rate has consistently exceeded 96% in recent years.